Commentary

There was a time, not very long ago, when public-safety agencies and other public-sector organizations didn’t seem to fully appreciate the significant threat that cyberattacks pose to their operations and ability to fulfill their missions. But that began to change over the last couple of years, thanks to a spate of high-profile incidents. One occurred […]

The 3GPP Plenary meetings took place September 11-15, 2023, in Bangalore, India. The Technical Specification Group (TSG) reports below highlight continued progress on Release 18 (R18) features of interest for public safety, including steady development on the stage 3 protocol work, which is the last stage in 3GPP standards development. The Plenary meetings included planning […]

Every time I read about a public safety agency being short staffed, with a burnt-out workforce, draining their overtime budget, I feel their pain. From New York to New Mexico and in communities all across the nation, police and fire departments routinely are forced to mandate longer shifts, which takes an emotional toll and raises […]

Editor’s note: A previous version of this column was posted that included only the first portion of the article—a mistake by the editor. IWCE’s Urgent Communications regrets the error and apologizes for any inconvenience. When first responders are called to action, they need reliable communications to coordinate an effective public-safety response. Public-safety personnel understand this […]